Working the faux Mociun tie-front dress…

Version by Lela Rose, $800

Mociun original, $350

Apparently I missed out on all the Mociun dress commotion of about 5 – 6 years ago. I wasn’t blogging then, and I definitely was not spending $250 or more on a casual dress!

But earlier this week I just happened to see a bevy of real and faux Mociun’s on Pinterest, including some made by sewing bloggers. Wow. I like this design.

So – off to my patterns to see what might work as a starting point for that bodice. I decided to use the Kwik Sew 3782 pussy-bow blouse. It has sleeves (which I want) and a v-neck with a tie.

This was a pretty easy alteration, I just had to think it through and keep track of my changes.

• The sleeves were the easiest part! I straightened the underarm by dropping the seam line straight down from the armhole.
• Shortened the bodice by about 2 1/2″ above the natural waist marking on the pattern.
• Narrowed the bodice quite a bit, to end up with 39″ across the bust and 35″ at the lower edge.
• Fashioned the bodice front with a 3″ opening at the lower edge, to allow for knotting the tie fairly tightly across the bust. I’ve seen other versions that left the 3″ opening in the skirt instead of the bodice. But this approach works really well and doesn’t hike up the skirt in front when it’s tied.  

Finishing the lower bodice at center front – a 1/2″ SA, folded under twice and topstitched.

• The tie is 2 pieces, 8″ wide by a yard long, cut on the bias and sewn together. Eventually I shortened it quite a bit. On this version, the tie is 11 1/2″ long from the point at which it exits the bodice. And I might shorten it again by an inch or so.

• The skirt is two rectangles, 27″ wide by 31″ long, gathered and attached to the bodice. I crossed the bottom of the bodice by 1/4″, before attaching the skirt.
• And put side seam pockets in the skirt, about 5″ below the top edge.

There’s only light gathering of the skirt under the center front, to decrease bunching when the dress is tied.

This cotton fabric is from Holly Lobby – and it drove me a little batty, because it had a persistent twist in it. Matching the print at the seams was harder than it should be. But – this version is a muslin, so I lightened up. I do like the print, though, and plan to get something similar from somewhere else!

I’ve also decided to take a couple inches off the hem on my next one.

This was a pleasant little project, and it kept me out of trouble for a week 🙂 

Hope you’re having a nice weekend – Coco